The Palestinian militant group Hamas said today an Arab state had foiled an Israeli plot to assassinate several of its political leaders abroad.
Hamas politburo member Mr Mohammed Nazzal said the security services of an Arab country foiled the plot "several weeks ago", but declined to name the country or say who was targetted.
"Hamas has received information that cells of the Israeli Mossad intelligence apparatus have started acting in some Arab countries to target Hamas political leadership," Mr Nazzal said in a statement.
"An Arab country...captured a Mossad cell preparing to undertake assassination operations," he added. More than one person had been on the target list.
Mr Nazzal said the accused plotters included Arab and foreign nationals but not Israelis. Israeli authorities had no immediate comment on the accusation.
"(Israel's) failure in assassinating Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip pushed it to attempt its destruction in foreign arenas," he said.
The plot, he said, would not intimidate Hamas.
Any attempt to assassinate Hamas officials in neighbouring Arab countries recalls a bungled 1997 attempt to kill politburo head Mr Khaled Meshaal in Jordan by injecting him with a drug in a daylight attack on an Amman street.
That attack so enraged Jordan's late King Hussein that he talked of hanging the captured Israelis unless they handed over the antidote, embarrassing the Israeli government which ended up releasing from prison Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.